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'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

(
Warner Bros.
)

Release date: Dec. 14

Blockbuster, Oscar bait or something else? Blockbuster

It's OK to be slightly skeptical about whether "The Hobbit" -- plus whatever appendices and extra bits of J.R.R. Tolkien's writings director Peter Jackson is using -- really has enough heft to support three movies. But Jackson has few equals in creating an immersive cinematic world. And with Martin Freeman in the title role and the return of Ian McKellen as Gandalf, it's also OK to be more than slightly excited to see what Jackson does with the story.